no trail left behind

Desolation Trail

Desolation Trail is a casual hike, leading through lush trees and vegetation ascending switchbacks toward the overlook. You will find the trailhead near a parking lot about halfway up Millcreek Canyon. This is a pet friendly hike on every odd calendar day. Please make use of the trash can at the trailhead for your pet's leftovers. The Desolation Trail starts to the right of a sign where the trail forks between Thayne's Canyon and Desolation Trail. This sign is found a little way up the trail from the garbage can. After that, just follow the switchbacks and you'll soon find yourself with a wonderful view of the valley through the canyon.

$3 fee when leaving Canyon

Trail completed in about 2 hours, Up & Down*This time includes filming, trash collection, and meal times.​

Features​:

Beautiful, lush trail

Pet friendly

Trinket shrine dedicated to the passing of pets and hikers

Overlook view of the valley

Recommendations:

Shoes/boots with ankle support

Trail completed in early summer, June of 2016Trash Collected: significant amounts of plastic, including wrappers, bottles, unused pet bags, etc. As well as some explicit material; and, several abandoned pet droppings thrown from the trail.

Possible Hazards to Encounter:

Risk of falling if you choose to climb over the overlook rocks.

This trail has lots of bugs flying around, be wary if you're allergic or sensitive to certain species' bites.

Recap

Desolation Trail was a pretty great hike that we enjoyed. We had originally wanted to go up Thayne's Canyon; but, decided to do Desolation instead because the sun was going down and we wanted to see the reflection across the lake. We encountered many other hikers and runners on this trail along the way. This being a weekday, it was unusual to see so many people on the trail. So expect to see many others on your path to the top.